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01:57PM

Animal deaths tied to 'Hobbit' filmsby William Spain

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- A spokesman for movie director Peter Jackson admitted Monday that several dozen animals died during production of "The Hobbit" trilogy, the Associated Press reports. Among the fatalities were horses, goats, chickens and a sheep. Animal wranglers involved in the films point the finger at the production company for keeping the beasts on a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other various "death traps," the wire service noted. The American Humane Association, which has been overseeing the animals' welfare, said none were harmed during the actual filming. But the group also said that the deaths point up problems with the oversight system, which keeps an eye on film sets but not where the animals are kept when they are off camera.

01:54PM

Maryland to join Big Ten conferenceby David B. Wilkerson

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The University of Maryland will move its athletic programs to the Big Ten conference from the Atlantic Coast Conference in an announcement coming Monday, according to published reports. The Big Ten currently has 12 teams. According to the Washington Post, Maryland Chancellor Britt Kirwan said that despite the school's six decades as a member of the ACC, "the world is changing, and there are benefits to Big Ten membership." The Big Ten has its own television network, which would be one of the sources of increased revenue for Maryland. Rutgers will also join the Big Ten, the Post said. That announcement will come on Tuesday.

01:45PM

Hackers take down Groupon's Israeli site: report
(
GRPN
)
by Rex Crum

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hackers claiming be from Pakistan managed to shut down the Israeli site of online daily deal company Groupon Inc.
(grpn)
on Monday, according a report in the Jerusalem Post. The Post said the hackers claimed to be from a pro-Palestinian group and took over the site at http://groupon.il early Monday morning to post messages warning Israeli troops against launching a ground attack on Gaza. The reported hacking of the Groupon site came a day after Israel's Finance Ministry said more than 44 million hack attacks have been made on Israeli government Web sites since Israel began launching air raids on Gaza last Wednesday. Groupon officials didn't immediately comment on the matter. Groupon's shares rose almost 4% Monday, to $3.10.

01:18PM

Apple shares up 6%; analyst downplays selloff
(
AAPL
)
by Rex Crum

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc.
(aapl)
shares on Monday climbed almost 6%, to $558.30 in afternoon trading. Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White said in a research note that the recent selloff in Apple's stock over the past eight weeks "has gotten to the point of being 'insanely insane.' White said that investors are overlooking the impact new products such as the iPhone 5 and iPad mini will likely have Apple's holiday season business. Separately, there were also reports out of Taiwan that chip-component makers there are gearing up for new orders from Apple for the next version of the iPhone to come out next summer.

12:43PM

Wal-Mart eyes fiscal cliff in earlier dividend
(
WMT
)
by Steve Gelsi

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
(wmt)
spokesman Randy Hargrove said Monday the blue chip retailer is paying its next quarterly dividend before the end of the year because it's in the best interests of its shareholders. "Walmart's board recognized that there are complex fiscal and federal tax rate issues that may not be resolved in the next few weeks, despite the ongoing good faith negotiations between the administration and Congress to resolve details related to the fiscal cliff," Hargrove said in an email to MarketWatch. Earlier in the day, Wal-Mart said it'll pay its regular quarterly dividend of 39.75 cents a share on Dec. 27, instead of the previously-scheduled date of Jan. 2. Shares of Wal-Mart, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
($dj)
, rose 0.8% in recent trades.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Lowe's Cos.
(low)
rose 7.4% after the home-improvement retailer reported a better-than-expected third-quarter result and raised its sales outlook for the year. Larger rival Home Depot Inc.
(hd)
was up 1.3%. Athletic-shoe retailer Finish Line Inc.
(finl)
rose 4.8% on Monday after it was raised to buy from hold by Gilford Securities. Home furnishings chain Williams-Sonoma Inc.
(wsm)
rose 3.6% after it was upgraded to buy from underperform by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Best Buy Co.
(bby)
rose 2.3%. Chief Executive Hurbert Joly reportedly is meeting with the company's founder and top shareholder Dick Schulze this week.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tyson Foods
(tsn)
shares were one of the leading S&P 500
(spx)
gainers Monday morning, advancing 7% to $18.08. The meats company topped Wall Street's fiscal fourth-quarter profit view, declared a special 10-cent-a-share dividend and upped its annual dividend 25% to 20 cents a share. Both dividends will be paid Dec. 14 to shareholders of record Nov. 30. Despite higher feed-grain costs, Tyson ended its September 2012 fiscal year with $1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, up from $716 million in fiscal 2011. Tyson's report helped lift other meat suppliers. Hog producer Smithfield Foods
(sfd)
rose 2% to $21.35, while poultry producer Sanderson Farms
(safm)
added 2% to $47.98.

09:59AM

Sales of existing homes rise 2.1% in Octoberby Ruth Mantell

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of existing homes rose 2.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million from a downwardly revised rate of 4.69 million in September, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a rate of 4.8 million for October. Sales are up 10.9% from the prior year. The median existing-home price rose 11.1% from the prior year to $178,600. Inventories declined 1.4% to 2.14 million units in October, representing at the current sales rate a 5.4-month supply, the lowest since 2006. Regionally, only the Northeast saw lower sales in October, with a decline of 1.7%, due, in part to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the area late in the month. There could be greater effects from Sandy in coming months, NAR said.

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